Court orders Uganda to pay $325 million to DRC in reparations
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled in favor of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in reparation case filed before it. The court has ordered Uganda to pay an amount of $325 million in reparations for the damages suffered by the country during the 1998-2003 invasion.
The presiding judge, Joan Donoghue said “the Court sets the total amount of reparations awarded to the DRC at US$325 million,” adding that, “the Court considers that the evidence in the record suggests that the number of deaths for which Uganda owes reparations is between approximately 10,000 and 15,000 people.”
According to the judgement, the east African country will pay the awarded figure in installment. Each year, the DRC will receive the sum of $65 million. The first set was scheduled to start from September 2022.
The amount as further detailed had $40 million awarded for property damages and $60 million to cater for the loss of natural resources including diamonds and coltan. The remaining $225 million was awarded for the loss of lives.
The suit by DRC as first initiated before United Nations’ highest court in 1999 came with a demand for about $11 billion. The said amount was meant to make up for damages including economic damges, both micro and macro suffered by the country after the invasion into the resource rich Ituri province.
The conflict which spanned from 1998-2003 saw the invasion of the resource rich area by troops from Uganda and also other armed groups, resulting in loss of lives, properties and injuries recorded.
The decision by the court has been welcomed by many Africans. According to a considerable number of them, the International Court of Justice should equally look into more heinous crimes against humanity committed by foreign troops in Africa during and after slavery and determine reparations appropriately.
